Skoda hits record sales for March and first quarter

Skoda Auto, the Czech automaker wholly owned by Volkswagen AG is on a rising path for the year – it delivered its best results to date for both last month and the whole first quarter.

The company’s sales in March were of 96,100 units, a rise of 14.6%, while for the quarter deliveries tallied 247,200 vehicles, up 12.1%. The growth was mainly supported by the European sales results, which jumped 17% for Q1, while the Octavia model went on to increase Western sales by 49.4% in March alone.

“Recording double-digit growth in the first quarter, Škoda has continued impressively on the company’s path to growth,” says Werner Eichhorn, Škoda’s Sales and Marketing hief. “The best first quarter and the best March in our history have been the result of outstanding products and an excellent team performance. The entire model range has proven to be a great success on the international markets. The new Octavia, in particular, has been a great hit in every respect. We will be keeping the pace up in 2014, and vigorously pursuing the most comprehensive model campaign in Škoda’s history.”

With the European recovery on its way, Skoda managed a strong growth on the overall European market – including in countries that still saw declines, like Russia (up 1.5%).
Meanwhile, the company’s best single market is – no surprise – China, where March deliveries were up 10.1% to 20,300 cars, while for the first quarter the carmaker grew sales by 7.5% to 62,000 vehicles.